As Is Hip Hop Awards - Lyricist of the Year
So as we look at hip-hop there is an understanding that all rappers are not created equal. The best way of giving recognition to an artist who may not be the best songwriter, or who showed up other artists on their own songs is to call them a lyricist. This can also sometimes be used as a detriment to an artists by saying "oh he's just a lyricist". For us over here at Yet Another Hip-Hop Blog Being a lyricist is one of the ultimate compliments. Let the countdown begin.
Number 5:
Jadakiss is not one of my favorite mc's. I think he is horribly overrated and lazy when it comes to content and concepts. However, there lays a natural talent and swagger which he conveys mostly through his delivery. Jada could be higher up my list if he attempted to make more "Letter to BIG" type of songs and less of his normal, average street fare.
Number 4:
Common was slept on this year. Universal Mind Control was another Neptune helmed creation so he wasn't able to ride the Kanye bandwagon to success but Common still has the lyrics no matter who screws up his album direction. The most recent example is how he murders both Ye and Kid Cudi on Cudi' "Maker 'er Say" single. You may be wondering just exactly what Common did this year anyway but he did have an album in between his new acting gigs.
Number 3:
Jay-z is one of the most consistent forces and a perennial contender because he can always make a good solid album and blend being radio friendly with getting it in on the lyrical side of things. He drops several jewels on the Blueprint 3 showing why out of all mainstream artists outside of Ludacris, no one really has more punchlines or subtle metaphors than he. Jay is the perfect MC.
Number 2:
Jumpoff Joe Budden has had his share of ups and downs over this past year. One thing remains true, everything that happens in his life will end up on a record and it will be very descriptive. Some of his lyrics are going to take more than one listen as he has almost as many pop culture references as my man NC-17 or Quentin Tarantino. Joe could have been the next big thing but label politics killed that. Though the Method Man beef wasn't official, check the Slaughterhouse D.O.A. freestyle and you will understand why Hot Nicks was skeptical about getting into a verbal battle with Joe. He also held his own on The Slaughterhouse album and dropped Padded Room and the Mood Music 3 mixtape which was real serious.
Number 1:
As much as I am a fan of Joe Budden's work, I was torn on the winner for this year. However. after hearing his mixtape Joell Ortiz does the classics, the Slaughterhouse album, and the various other projects he has done I had to hand this years crown to the heir to Big Pun's throne Joell Ortiz. Joell has lyrics for days, in the aforementioned D.O.A. Slaughterhouse freestyle, Joell took control of the beat for a good 6 minutes and strangled that shit while people watched. There aren't many ways for me to describe his raps that he hasn't used so you just have to check it out for yourself.
Number 5:
Jadakiss is not one of my favorite mc's. I think he is horribly overrated and lazy when it comes to content and concepts. However, there lays a natural talent and swagger which he conveys mostly through his delivery. Jada could be higher up my list if he attempted to make more "Letter to BIG" type of songs and less of his normal, average street fare.
Number 4:
Common was slept on this year. Universal Mind Control was another Neptune helmed creation so he wasn't able to ride the Kanye bandwagon to success but Common still has the lyrics no matter who screws up his album direction. The most recent example is how he murders both Ye and Kid Cudi on Cudi' "Maker 'er Say" single. You may be wondering just exactly what Common did this year anyway but he did have an album in between his new acting gigs.
Number 3:
Jay-z is one of the most consistent forces and a perennial contender because he can always make a good solid album and blend being radio friendly with getting it in on the lyrical side of things. He drops several jewels on the Blueprint 3 showing why out of all mainstream artists outside of Ludacris, no one really has more punchlines or subtle metaphors than he. Jay is the perfect MC.
Number 2:
Jumpoff Joe Budden has had his share of ups and downs over this past year. One thing remains true, everything that happens in his life will end up on a record and it will be very descriptive. Some of his lyrics are going to take more than one listen as he has almost as many pop culture references as my man NC-17 or Quentin Tarantino. Joe could have been the next big thing but label politics killed that. Though the Method Man beef wasn't official, check the Slaughterhouse D.O.A. freestyle and you will understand why Hot Nicks was skeptical about getting into a verbal battle with Joe. He also held his own on The Slaughterhouse album and dropped Padded Room and the Mood Music 3 mixtape which was real serious.
Number 1:
As much as I am a fan of Joe Budden's work, I was torn on the winner for this year. However. after hearing his mixtape Joell Ortiz does the classics, the Slaughterhouse album, and the various other projects he has done I had to hand this years crown to the heir to Big Pun's throne Joell Ortiz. Joell has lyrics for days, in the aforementioned D.O.A. Slaughterhouse freestyle, Joell took control of the beat for a good 6 minutes and strangled that shit while people watched. There aren't many ways for me to describe his raps that he hasn't used so you just have to check it out for yourself.
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